Center plate.



L. H. TURNER.

CENTER PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.28,1912.

Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

FIG. 3

FIG. 2

Q FIG.6

WITNESSES. '1 j, K 71 1112 g THE NORRS PETERS CO. PNGTOLLITHQ. WASHINGTON, D- C.

UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICE.

LOREN H. TURNER, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIGNoR To JAMES M. SCI-IOONMAKER, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

CENTERPLATE. l

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 15, 1914 Application filed February 23, 1912. Serial No. 679,513.

To all whom it'may concern: Y

Be it known that I, LonnN H. TURNER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Center Plates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptiorrthereof. My invention relates to improvements in railroad center plates or bearings for :car trucks andbodies,and relates more particularly to the construction set forth in Let ters Patent No. 655,624 granted to C. H. Hartman August 7, 1900. The center plates made under said patent have been. preferably made as steel forgings, and the forgings so made were necessarily of heavy weight to be provided for the plates attached to the car body or truck the annular.

inclosing rings and the seats or races for the balls, this adding considerably to the cost of the same and limiting. the character of metal used in the forgings to the ordinary grades of steel, the employment of higher grades being practically prohibited on account of the weights and mass of metal 1n the forgings. Further than this, when the run-ways were worn the whole plates were necessarily discarded. In case of the breaking of the balls ortheir cutting JII'DO and formingpockets in the race-ways they resisted the turning or swiveling of the cen ter plates. In case of a crack developing in the body of the center plate this crack was liable in a short time to extend throughout the body and destroy the plate. There was also some difficulty in assembling the two members of the center plate, as each plate was itself rigidly secured to the car truck or body. g

My invention hasfor its objectto. overcome these difliculties and to provide a cheaper construction and one in which high grades of steel can bejemployed.

To these ends it consists, generally stated, in a railroad center plate having top and bottom supporting members formed of malleable cast ironbody portions adapted to be secured to the car members and having annular grooved seats therein, and forged steel rings fitting and sliding within said seats, and having concave race-waysand antifriction rollers seated in said race-ways between the two members.

It also comprises the employment with such supporting members and sliding rings of individual ball-races in the lower ring and a continuous race-way in the upper ring; as well as'other improvements as herematter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying" drawing Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a center plate embodying the invention, showing ,it in place as secured tothe cartruck and body; Fig. 2 is a top view of the bottom center plate; Fig. 3 is a .bott-omview of the top and like body portion 3 of the top center.

plate are the supporting members and are each formed of a malleable casting witha flat outer face at and bolt holes 5 to secure the same to the car truck or body. They are also formed withthe central passage 6 for.

the king-bolt. The top casting has also the annular flange 7 fittingaround the cylindrical central portion 8 of the bottom center plate, and the central flange 9 entering within the enlarged portion 6? of the enlarged king-bolt seat 6. of the bottom member, these flanges being employed to pre vent the entrance of dust to the race-way. In each of said malleable cast iron members are the annular grooves 10 and- 11 forming seats for the reception of the forged steel rings 12 and 13. These seats 10 and 11 have their walls tapering as at 14 and the forged steel rings have corresponding tapering faces so that the forged steel rings are i.

loosely seated in the malleable castings and are capable of slidingtherein, co-acting with the balls or rollers as hereafter described. These forged steel rings have the concave race-ways 15 and 16 forged therein, the lower ring 12 having a series of separated independent race-ways .15, as shown in Fig. 2, each receiving a single ball, so properly spacing the balls thereon to enable them to sustain the load, these ball races being illustrated in Fig. 4: and, as shown, being hollow or concave to receive a portion of the bodies of the balls or rollers, and hold them within their individual race-ways. The ring 12 has. a continuous annular concave raceway as shown ig. 3. To facilitate,,

theremoval of the forged steel rings from the center plate members I provide in the center plate members the pockets 18 at the edges of the rings and'having the portionsv H 19 extending under the same for the inserr tion of a lifting hook so that these rings may;

be easily withdrawn and replaced.

It is, a well known factthat the vibration mused in the running. of the train leads to crystallization ofth'e steel parts, thoughit does not affect the malleable iron in this way. Such action is liable to develop cracks or imperfections in the body of the center plat'esifinade entirelyiof forged steel, and

in the end leads to weakening and breaking o'f thegc'enter platewhich may lead" to acvcid'entl' By "theicons'truction embodied in tlii's' invention the forged'steel rings can-be formed of any des'iredsteel providin g'hard Wearing surfaces and soincreasing the wear [of the rings, for example, of. vanadium,

nickel, manganese" or other non-crystallizi'ng steel which is'of high price and Which for thisreason could not beused commercially where the entire plates Were forged from the same. It is, however, practicable to I form the rings of such metal. Further than this, in case of the development of any such crack in the body of the ring, even thoughit might Work entirely across the same, as the ring is fully supported in the malleable iron body'p'ortion of the center'plate'member, it "Will be held to place thereby-and'even in carrying f the tremendous loads now employed in'metalfreight' cars it'will sustain the same and prevent accident suchas might "occur "were the entire forged steelplate under the conditions above stated. In case, however, the plate becomes worn or for any otherreas'on it is found desirable to: insert a fresh Wearing face in the center plate, this is done at small cost by removing the worn.

fring from'the malleable body portion and substituting a new like memberin its place.

i Throughthe recesses 18 and'19 this can be easily accomplished. a

: In the operation, as" the rings fit loosely "in the 'seat's of the supporting members and are thus free to slide therein it is evident'that :friction-is reducedIto a minimum in the turning of the'center plates. The balls or rollers naturally roll in the swiveling of the trucks until they reach the'ends of the in- 'clividual' race-Ways in the bottom ring and v if thereis further jswiveling movementthe rings can slide in their grooves in the supporting members 'Wh1le the balls remain properlydistributedinftheir race-ways and Copies-of this-patent may be obtained for all; tendency for them tomount up and es-' -cfape from the race-ways is overcome. In

case of breakage of balls or pocketing of the same through the wearing of deep seats in a combined anti-friction and-friction center "plate. I I

In assembling a car having gbearin of the improved construction, instead of the liability of th e car body displacing the antifriction' rolls as it is lowered to place, the

upper'rin'g 13 of the" top bearing can be assembled'upon the truck beforetheca'r body is lowered; Thatis, by withdrawing 'it from the supporting member 8, placing the' balls in the ball races of the bottom ring 12 and 'then placing the upper ring 13 upon the balls, the balls are thus properly assembled before the, car body is loweredto place,'making the work easier and more accurate. for

the workmen,

While as above steel may be employed for the stated a higher grade of removable rings containing the ball races, the-whole platecan be made at lower cost and'its" life indefinitely extended through the employment of such removable rings.

What I claim is: 1. A railroad center plate formed-of two main supporting members each having an.

annular outwardly tapered grooved seat, a ring having a slidingfit' inthe seat of one member and having a series of individual concave race-ways formed on its outer surface, a ring fitting loosely in the annular seat of the other supporting member and having a continuous conca've race-Way, and

anti-friction rollers fitting in said indi- I vidual race wa'ys' in the first mentione'd ring;

and extending into the continuous race-way of the upper r ng, said rings forming the "sole bearings forfsaid rollers; I

2; A railroad center 'plate having a supporting member having an annular outwardly tapered 1 grooved 'seat formed therein and a recess at the side; of said seat andex- *te nding under-the grooved portion th'ereof,

fseat'and having a race-way in its upper faceb a series of anti-friction rollers adapted to sole bearing on said member forthe rollers.

run in said raceway, said ringlforming the In testimony whereof, I the .saidLoREN I TURti'ER have hereunto setmy hand.

' I I LOREN TURNER; I

Witnesses;

I JAMiis I. KAY, I Y

ALVAR C. PURD'YL five cents each, by addressing-the Commissioner ofPatnt s,

Washington, .D. G.

and a"ringfittinginfsaid ajinular grooved 

